Korean Folk Village

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day - the trees were in blossom, the greenery fresh, and there was no doubt that spring has arrived. We have been waiting for weather like this, and had postponed a few items that are on our "hit list" for a day just like this. So, after we had breakfast, and packed up our stroller, a lunch and all the camera and tourist paraphernalia, we were enroute to our destination:

The Korean Folk Village.

The village is not far from our place, close to a ten minute drive. There was a huge parking lot, so parking was a breeze. (You might wonder why this is worth mentioning, but this is usually a concern for us when we drive to Seoul, or anywhere unfamiliar, since people seem to park anywhere and we still are a bit mystified about the rules....) It was relatively inexpensive to visit, $12.00 each, and considering its a whiole day of enterainment, thats not too bad.

Basically the village is set in a natural environment of 243 acres, and there are more than 260 houses from the different regions of Korea. There are markets, and workshops, where the culture of the Joseon dynasty are recreated. It was neat to watch straw shoes being weaved, and paper fans created. There were workshops on how silk, paper, and bean paste were produced, and how grains were milled. It was a fun and lively atmosphere to learn how Koreans lived and worked, long ago.

There were a few performances that we checked out: an acrobat walking the tightrope, Farmers music and dance, and hoseback riders doing lifts and stunts.

We needed a pick me up after trecking around the park. We had read in our Lonely planet to look out for the "magician" making dragon's beard candy - it's made from honey hand pulled in flour to widths of human hair. We managed to find the stall where it was being made, and met the "TV star" himself (pictured on the box). We watched them make the candy, and wrap the strands around a nut mixture.

We picked up a box for 5,000 W (5 bucks). It was pretty good, not something one might get addicted to like.....chocolate... but an interesting taste no less. Honey, flour and nuts.....hmmn, inventive, I'll give them that.

We also picked up some puffed rice crackers, and judging by the picture of the empty bag, you can see how much we liked them!